A lack of size was one of, if not the biggest issue facing Darian DeVries’ first Indiana roster during the 2025-26 season. The Hoosiers’ frontcourt just couldn’t consistently hang with those of its Big Ten counterparts and poor shooting nights led to blowouts in conference play.
DeVries and the rest of the staff set out to course correct this offseason and went from one of the smallest frontcourts to one of the biggest, with a pair of 7-footers starting alongside one another.
C Samet Yigitoglu
- Position: Center
- Year: 3rd
- Role: Starting center
- Previous school: SMU
Yigitoglu, standing at
7’2” and weighing in at 270lbs, was one of the most imposing options available in the portal and Indiana got him to commit before a campus visit.
He’s the tallest player to don the cream and crimson in several seasons and plays like it, boasting one of the better offensive rebounding rates in the country and setting hammering screens for SMU in his two seasons with the Mustangs.
He’ll fill a similar role at Indiana, where he’ll be tasked with playing alongside Aiden Sherrell at power forward as the Hoosiers look to be one of the top rebounding teams in the country this season. Yigitoglu, at center, will be the tip of the spear for this effort and he performed well on the glass through Indiana’s three preseason exhibitions.
Offensively, it’s probably worth expecting him to turn in anywhere between 8-10 points per game. He won’t be the focal point as more recent centers have been, instead doing his work on putbacks and when he has clear mismatches in the post. This is what DeVries will want while encouraging Yigitoglu to call for the ball in ideal scoring situations.
He didn’t have a particularly high assist rate at SMU, but he’ll be expected to do a solid amount of passing at Indiana. DeVries has pointed this out this offseason, noting that Yigitoglu sees the court well (I’d hope, given the height) and can make reads out of the post. That should open up scoring opportunities from 3-point range should he face any double teams, something he has to recognize and respond to quickly.
Yigitoglu gives Indiana a big body in the middle defensively and his block rate took a leap from his freshman to sophomore year with SMU. I wouldn’t expect him to go hunting for blocks, but if he’s in position around the rim he has the size to affect shots or swat them into the stands.
I don’t expect Yigitoglu to make some massive, unforeseen jump and perform like a focal point center in 2026-27, but there’s a path for him being one of the top centers in that sort of clean-up role between rebounding and putbacks on this team.
That seemed to be what the staff has in mind for him and he seems to have embraced that.
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